Thursday, January 07, 2010

Mumbai, Jan 7 (IANS) Shahid Kapoor feels his struggling days were difficult -- from renting a number of houses to spending a night in a second hand Maruti 800 to giving 100s of auditions and getting rejected -- yet memorable.

"All these things are a memory. I am very happy and proud of the fact that God has been so kind to me and given me so much. I am glad that I was able to get through all those difficulties in my life," said Shahid, who spent a whole night sitting on the roof and bonnet of a car along with his "Chance Pe Dance" co-star Genelia D'Souza at the Kamalistan Studios here, promoting their movie that releases Jan 15.

At around midnight Wednesday, the duo arrived near the car in T-shirts and track pants.

Vada pao (bun) and tea vendors were present along with 'khatiyas' (string cot) nearby for the audience.

In the film, Shahid plays a struggler who comes to Mumbai to make it big in the movies.

Sources said the activity, which continued till 7 a.m Thursday, was planned as it resembles the lives of those who come to Mumbai to try their luck and also because a scene in the movie depicts it.

Citing a real-life incident when he spent a night in a car during his struggling days, though he had his house and well-settled family in Mumbai, the actor told IANS: "We always lived in a rented flat and we had to shift from one flat to the other and my family was not in town. Due to some reason we had to leave the flat a day before and I had to spent the night in the car."

Mumbai, Jan 6 (IANS) Out of all different movie promotion ideas, this one seems new. Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza will be spending Wednesday night together in a car here to promote their forthcoming film "Chance Pe Dance".

"Shahid and Genelia will be spending a full night in a small car at the Kamalistan Studios today. There will be vada pao (bun) vendors and khatiyas (string cot) nearby for the people. We want to make this the most talked about promotional activity in Bollywood and it's being done on a major scale," a source from the film unit told IANS.

In the film, Shahid plays a struggler who comes to Mumbai to make it big in the movies. According to the source, the activity was planned as it bears semblance with the lives of those who come here to try their luck and also because a scene in the movie depicts it.

"This activity has similarities with our movie. In fact in his own days of struggle, Shahid used to sleep in a car many times. In the movie also, there's a scene where these strugglers have to spend nights altogether, because they have no place to stay," added the source.

The activity will continue till Thursday morning and those who will be present there will be able to share tea and bun maska (bun and butter) with the stars. It will be served at 6 a.m.

After months of silence, Shahid Kapur has decided to put an end to the controversy surrounding his alleged differences with filmmaker Ken Ghosh. The actor says they never had any personal conflict while making Chance Pe Dance and that he doesn't need to be treated like a star on the sets of Ghosh's movie.

"When working on any assignment, who doesn't have an argument or a debate? Now you may choose to call it a fight, battle or a war at your own will, but the fact remains that in any creative assignment, there are bound to be different points of view," Shahid told IANS.

"Don't you too get into situations when you have an idea different from your colleagues? Ken is probably one director with whom I share a comfort level better than many other filmmakers with whom I have worked in the past," said Shahid, who started his acting career with Ghosh's Ishq Vishk.

"We both started off together. I worked in Ishq Vishk which was his debut film as a movie director. On his sets, I am not required to be treated as a star. Both of us can walk up to each other and make suggestions and express our likes and dislikes," he added.

Asked why he took so long to respond to negative reports, Shahid said: "There was no point clarifying my stance over the Ken issue. I was anyway out of India shooting for my next film with Parmeet Sethi. Yes, such tit-bits did reach my ears, but as long as Ken and me were clear about our stance, we chose to ignore such talks."

But doesn't he feel a positive statement at the right time could have helped ease matters?

"What's the point in justifying and further igniting the so-called issue when people have already made up their minds on what to write. While I chose to be quiet all this while, I think now is the right time for people to know that it was all a non-issue to begin with and things were and are perfectly fine between us," he said.

Starring Genelia D'Souza as his leading lady, Chance Pe Dance is produced by UTV Motion Pictures and is scheduled for a Jan 15 release. And Shahid is happy with the way the film has shaped up.

"With this film, Ken is back in his comfort zone as he has managed to pull things off very nicely. Yes, things didn't work out in our last outing 'Fida' but in 'Chance Pe Dance' he is back doing what he enjoys most. He has told a simple story in a simple way. Also, since the film is quite close to the way our personal lives have shaped, both of us could perfectly relate to the situations that are told on screen," said Shahid.